Former Sinn Fein Councillor to Be Key Prosecution Witness in Gangland Murder Trial

Gangster dubbed 'The Monk' by murdered journalist Veronica Guerin accused of ordering attack

As legal argument delays the Gerry Hutch trial, armed officers patrol outside the Special Criminal Court in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on Oct. 3, 2022. (PA).

A former Sinn Fein councillor will be the key prosecution witness at the trial of alleged Irish gangland boss Gerry Hutch, who is accused of ordering a murderous attack on a boxing press conference in Dublin in 2016.

One Sept. 28 Jonathan Dowdall, 44, and his 65-year-old father Patrick pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in the Irish capital on Feb. 5, 2016.

Hutch—who has been known as “The Monk” since murdered journalist Veronica Guerin gave him the moniker in the 1990s—was arrested in Spain in August 2021 and extradited to Ireland.

Hutch, 59, was due to go on trial at the Special Criminal Court—sitting with no jury—on Monday along with Paul Murphy, 60, who is charged with supplying logistical support to the killers, and Jason Bonney, 51, who is charged with by providing getaway cars.

But the trial was adjourned for a week following a request from the prosecutor.

Dowdall’s lawyer, Michael O'Higgins, told the court on Monday his client had given the Garda Siochana “material assistance” and was willing to appear as a prosecution witness at Hutch’s trial and he said his client should in return be sentenced to less than five years in jail.

‘His Life ... Is Effectively Over’

Dowdall is understood to have joined Ireland’s witness protection programme and O'Higgins told the court: “His life and the life of his family is effectively over, he will have to get a new start, and he will spend his life looking over his shoulder. Every conversation with a stranger, he will have to remind himself to be discreet.”

Byrne, 33, was shot dead when six gunmen, dressed as police officers and armed with AK-47 assault rifles, attacked associates of Daniel Kinahan at a weigh-in for a WBO European title fight between Kinahan’s fighter, Jamie Kavanagh, and Antonio Joao Bento.

The court heard Byrne was shot six times in an “execution-style killing.”

Dowdall and his father booked a room at the Regency Hotel and made it available to the gunmen.

Patrick Dowdall’s lawyers said it had been a “catastrophic error of judgment” on his part.

The attack was initially claimed by the Continuity IRA but this was later denied.

Kinahan, who had flown in from Spain for the fight, is believed to have been the target but he managed to escape.

Hutch’s nephew Patrick Hutch, 24, was originally charged with Byrne’s murder but his trial collapsed in 2019 after the senior investigating officer in the case, Detective Superintendent Colm Fox, committed suicide by gun at a Dublin police station.

In the wake of the Regency Hotel shooting at least 16 people were killed in tit-for-tat attacks blamed on the so-called Hutch–Kinahan feud.

The Regency Hotel attack was allegedly a revenge attack by Gerry Hutch after his nephew Gary was shot dead in Spain in September 2015.

Wanted posters showing the U.S. government's $5 million reward for arrest of Daniel Kinahan and associates are displayed at Dublin City Hall on April 12, 2022. (Niall Carson/PA).

Kinahan is believed to be living in Dubai, and in April the United Arab Emirates froze his assets after the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against what it called the Kinahan Organized Crime Group and rewards of $5 million each for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Kinahan and several others.

Kinahan was a friend of British world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who publicly thanked him in June 2020 for his efforts to put together a lucrative fight with Anthony Joshua.

MTK Global, a boxing promotions company linked to Kinahan, ceased operations in April 2022.

Mr. Justice Tony Hunt, one of a panel of three judges, said Dowdall and his father would be sentenced on Oct. 17.

PA Media contributed to this content.